Do you think a 3-1/2" vent stack is moronic? I do.

My vent stack roof boot is leaking. I'm guessing it has something to do with a 3" boot over a 3-1/2" vent stack.

Is my roofer a moron or the plumber? I'm guessing the latter since boots come in 3" and in 4" and nothing in 3-1/2" that 10 mins of Google can find... I wonder what you think.

I'm thinking I need to cut it off in the attic and make it 3". 4" if the city says so. Not a big deal... I just hate fixing other peoples' stupidity, and I think there was some involved.

Also: separate rant. Anders Lign compression fittings (the ones with the integrated sleeve in the compression nut) are crap, and it's all the home stores sell now. 4 for 4, two different boxes of type-L 3/8" soft copper tube, all leaked. Going back to John Guest fittings

My vent stack roof boot is leaking. I'm guessing it has something to do with a 3" boot over a 3-1/2" vent stack.

Is my roofer a moron or the plumber? I'm guessing the latter since boots come in 3" and in 4" and nothing in 3-1/2" that 10 mins of Google can find... I wonder what you think.

I'm thinking I need to cut it off in the attic and make it 3". 4" if the city says so. Not a big deal... I just hate fixing other peoples' stupidity, and I think there was some involved.

Also: separate rant. Anders Lign compression fittings (the ones with the integrated sleeve in the compression nut) are crap, and it's all the home stores sell now. 4 for 4, two different boxes of type-L 3/8" soft copper tube, all leaked. Going back to John Guest fittings

Thanks for letting me vent

Ha ha, get it?

Click to expand...

So the inside diameter of that stack is 3 Â½"? The O.D. of standard 3" PVC Schedule 40 PVC pipe is 3 Â½" but the inside is 3". So apparently its the wrong roof flashing.

What it is is whoever installed the flange didn't realize that they are supposed to be tight, real tight and it takes a bit of push to get the pipe through so they slit it instead. Find the slitter and place the blame. Oh, yes you have to replace it now, it will leak forever.

The "moronic" thing about a 3 1/2" vent would be the time and expense of trying to find ANY pipe or fittings in that size. You have a 3" vent pipe with a flashing that was installed by a moron. Unless the sleeve fits tightly around the pipe there is absolutely NO WAY it is not going to leak, unless you live in the middle of the Sahara Desert where it seldom, if ever, rains. The plumber may have furnished the flashing, but the roofer installed it while shingling. If he snipped it to install it, he was a moron, and if it was already cut and he installed it anyway, he was still a moron.

Note that if you carefully remove the "rubber" from a new, similar flashing, slide it down onto the pipe and adhere it to the cut rubber with, say, silicone, it will be raintight until you get around to replacing the full flashing, without any rush. It could last for years.

Thanks, our home stores don't carry them and I can't make it to the plumbers' supply during the day, so at first I made them myself.
But, I was a moron and made them with 4" boots when I needed 3" so I whipped them in the trash furiously. When I bought the 3" boots I was lazy and just slipped the whole flashing right over.

Oh, you meant as a permanent replacement. I just figured all new flashings with the new roof so I was just trying to stop the leak for now. I saw the Oatey rings online but thought they were meant to slip over and act as a rain collar, not as a permanent repair. Thanks for the tip.